Red Faction Guerilla Re-Mars-tered Review

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Before we get started, a disclaimer: I have never played the original version of Red Faction Guerrilla, which is ironic considering that anyone reading this probably has. As such, I came to this game with no feelings of nostalgia and thus judge it only on its own merits. That said, let’s dig in.

Red Faction Guerrilla Re-mars-tered is all about chaotic fun. The game has a story with some memorable characters, but it really is just a tacked-on direction for the player to follow while driving from place to place, killing armored soldiers called “drones” with arc welders and assault rifles, then destroying buildings with rockets and a sledge hammer. A story it is, however, so I will lay it out.

You play as Alec Mason, a demolition man who has just arrived at the colony on Mars seeking honest work in the mines. He quickly learns that the private military organization occupying Mars (the Earth Defense Force – EDF for short) is defending no one but themselves on the red planet. As events unfold, Mason finds himself hunted by the EDF and, seeing no alternative, joins the Red Faction, a resistance group of colonists who call Mars home. It’s their goal to run the EDF back to Earth where it belongs.

As Mason attempts to aid the resistance, the player will find multiple things to do across the surface of Mars. You have two meters by which to measure how you’re doing: Control and Morale. Control, a measure of EDF presence in a given sector, is lowered by completing missions and destroying EDF property. Emptying this bar and completing certain missions opens a final mission to drive the EDF out of that sector completely. Morale is a measure of strength and faith in the Red Faction movement. It is raised by completing side missions and saving Red Faction members. Conversely, Morale is lowered by letting those members die or letting Mason run out health. Morale is not required to complete the game, but it is greatly to your advantage to keep the bar full because high Morale grants more salvage (the game’s currency) at the end of missions and a greater chance of faction members coming to your aid.

Where the game both shines and disappoints is in gameplay execution. Controls and general gameplay can be a little clunky, but that’s not entirely surprising in a game that’s almost a decade old. What’s really frustrating is the game’s AI. I can’t tell you how many times I failed missions because I came blazing in with my truck and jumped out of my vehicle only for one of my “allies” to jump in the truck and run me over. For this to happen once or twice would be no big deal. But it’s happened so many times that I’m now careful to park my truck at an angle pointing away from where I’m headed. The fact that any ally can jump in my vehicle and take off with it can be frustrating anyway when there’s no truck where I left one, but that’s nothing compared to getting mown down by my friends so often. On the upside, I can jump in any vehicle I find, as well.

Except for the clunky controls and stupid AI, the game is well-made and does what it’s supposed to do – gives the player a great deal of chaotic, destructive fun. It stays very simple - drive, kill, destroy; there's not even an inventory for you to keep up with. Leveling whole outposts with your sledge hammer might be an acquired taste, but you’ll soon find yourself swinging that sledge with relish. If you give Red Faction Guerrilla Re-Mars-tered a try, you won’t regret it.